


Matter Act 2 - Unlock (HIATUS)

by MayorOfCanTown



Series: MatterStuck [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: (at times), ?? kinda??, Alternate Universe, An evil dog human person with fabric skin, BAMF Jade, BAMF Terezi, Double Entendre, ENJOY THE FABRIC, F/F, F/M, High School AU, How Do I Tag, Humanstuck, M/M, Magicks, MatterStuck, Mute!John, OOC, Self Harm, Superherostuck, This AU is shit, arent you enjoying, but you should probably start with matter, calling it its own 'verse, cant tag for my life, gay shit, if you want to read this on its own be my guest, otherwise nothing will make sense, really ooc, sciencey stuff, self hate, very fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-08-28 15:19:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 13,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8451502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayorOfCanTown/pseuds/MayorOfCanTown
Summary: They say the end of days will come when you are alone, separated, and losing hope.
No.
The end comes when you are all together, fighting for your lives.





	1. Rose - A Question of Loyalty

**Author's Note:**

> GUYS ACT TWO ACT TWO  
> I hope you didn't miss me too much in the break  
> but like  
> we are back  
> and better than ever  
> i.e. slightly less shit  
> ENJOY
> 
> (note gets darker and darker)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is perfect and beautiful.
> 
> Of course, you were fated to think that.  
> And that.  
> And that.  
> And that.

Everything makes sense.

All the infinite complexities of the universe were simply the action of entropy increasing over time, and every reaction, every interaction, can be predicted. You see it all. Everything. You even see you, seeing you, seeing you, seeing you, seeing everything. All of this was inevitable, and totally unavoidable.

 

The words you are speaking are not your own, but simply what you were already destined to say.

“I see…”

“Do you see him? Where is he?” responds your brother, but you cannot hear him. However, he was destined to respond that way, as is your reply destined to be.

“I see everything.”

From that moment, it was as if you had been let out of a cage. As if the padlock had fallen away; as if you had been…

 

**Unlocked.**

 

“I am **Unlocked** ,” you say, but do not feel yourself speak the words. You only know you said them because it was fated to happen.

Jade’s voice reaches out across the white expanse. “What does that mean? Can you find him?” You disregard the pleas: they are beneath you. If you are destined to find what you are looking for, you will find it, and no power can stop that.

“The course of the future is fixed. If we are to find what we are looking for, it will be due to the action being guided by The Light, and not by any effort of our own.”

Though you could not see them, The Light told you that Jade and Dave were stood, staring at you, in shock.

“What the fucking shit is going on?” he whispers to her, as is destined.

“I don’t know. We need to shake her out of this, right?” she responds, just as The Light predicted.

“How?” comes his hurried response, as he cannot escape fate.

 

“You will succeed, and I will forget my experience of being unlocked. You will inform me after.” You speak the words that you knew already you were going to speak, as if reading from a book. A book telling the story of your entire universe.

“How?” An echoed word of two voices returns.

“You will succeed without the benevolent arms of The Light.”

“Benevolent… what?” Of course. The foolish boy knows not of the love of The Light.

“The Light is all, The Light is one. We should all worship The Light, as all else amounts to nothing.”

You know that he is rushing towards you. “Snap out of it, Rose! Get the fuck back here!” Your body falls to the sofa after being pushed. It falls and rebounds slightly with the exact velocities The Light predicted.

It is so kind.

However, notions like that are determined and pointless.

Suddenly, through the knowledge surrounding you, two red orbs pierce. “Rose! I am not losing you too!”

“She said she was **Unlocked** , right? Maybe you need to **Lock** her?”

“How the fuck do I do that?” The orbs reappear, stronger than before. “Rose: **Lock!** ”

As you could have simply stated, thanks to the knowledge granted to you by The Light, it does not work.

The air around Dave starts to crackle with heat. You were wondering when he would figure it out.

Of course, that is merely a figure of speech. You already knew, down to the Planck time.

“Dave what are you doing? Don’t burn her!”

“Trust me Jade, I got this.”

You thank The Light for allowing you to see, and watch as the projection of The Light burns down.

“Rose: **Lock!** ”

~~~

“So I said that I could see everything?”

“Yeah. It was weird as shit.”

“Oh, and your eyes went all purple and glowy. It was really pretty!”

“Jade, do you really think she cares how she looked?”

“Actually, dearest brother, it could be useful to know,” you correct him. “If it ever happens to any of you, I can recognise it. I fear that this **Unlocked** state is not only dangerous, but perhaps recurring, and we should all know how to recognise it.”

Dave shrugged sheepishly. “Well, yeah. Some symbol flashed as well, I think it must have been the symbol of The Light.”

“Gold cartoon sun?” you ask.

“That’s it.”

“Also,” Jade interjects. “You seemed to already know that you were going to forget all of this? But you were a bit too busy going on about fate and destiny and loving The Light and such to tell us what to tell you.”

“Hmm.” You hold your face with one hand. “Perhaps this **Unlocked** state subjected me to so much of my power that I began to worship it? I cannot know for sure. What I do know, however, is where John is.”

Dave’s jaw hits the floor.

“What?” Jade picks up your hands and looks into your eyes. “How?”

You curl your hands round so that they are on top of hers, and look down. “In all honesty, I do not know. But somehow just that information has remained in my memory.”

You tell them where he is: a building across town, probably in a lower floor; the next few minutes are a blur as you gather minimal belongings and leave. You lead the way, and both Dave and Jade seem anxious, the former particularly. “If you could just describe the place, I could warp us there,” Jade shouts to you, as you all set up a run.

“I would not risk it,” you shout back over your shoulder, but maintaining your composure. “We do not know what could be waiting for us.” A quick glance over at Dave leaves you wishing you hadn’t; his usually expressionless face contortioned into a wicked scowl and, even with his sunglasses, you could see the furrow of his brow and the squint of his eyes.

Dave fighting with his emotions was…

Dangerous.

 

And with this anger? So much that you could almost feel it?

Well.

You best keep your distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 1
> 
> THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT I JUST WANTED TO GET SOME CHAPTERS QUEUED IN CASE OF DISASTER
> 
> yeah i wrote this like a month ago  
> its for the good of the future  
> you are all fabulous thank you for staying with me!!!
> 
> -The Mayor


	2. John - Abnormality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw: torture. non-graphic
> 
> We meet our smol eggy boy again and bad things are happening  
> sad face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! support on act 2 has been incredible as per usual! thank you guys so much, it means a lot!!
> 
> did somebody say one day early?

You don’t remember falling asleep, but when you wake up, you’re still suspended. Not sure why you expected anything different, but there goes the “It’s all a dream” plan.

Differently now, is that whatever was covering your head is gone, and you’re free to look around; you aren’t sure if that’s good or bad. The first thing you look for is your arms, craning upwards to see your hands trapped in some hard material that can’t decide what colour it is. What did Jack call it… a carbon metastable isotope? Or allotrope? One of the two. You hesitantly try flexing your fingers, and rolling your wrists, to no response – it feels as though the spheres’ insides have the exact shape of your hands.

The pink cuts down each arm sting slightly, and in the low light you can just make out the criss-crossing pattern across each one, and the white fabric tightly wrapped around the jagged one. Stitches? And a bandage? Jack sure seemed to be taking good care of you. He must be slightly delusional, you think. Anyone could see from a mile away that you didn’t deserve this kind of treatment.

Looking down, your feet seem to be encased as well, but in a simple foot-lock instead of the strange colour-shifting material your hands had. Of course: your hands were dangerous. You deserved to be locked up, like any criminal.

At least this way, people you know won’t get dragged into it as well. They don’t need that kind of stress.

After assessing yourself, you try to take in your surroundings – well, as much as you can see. Some sort of computer hooked up to a ridiculous number of wires sits off to your side, projecting a holographic screen either side of the monitor. Advanced tech, pretty cool. The floor looks bland and hard; it’s most likely concrete tiles. A faded red stain right under you shows where your blood must have dripped. You hope that wasn’t too much trouble for Jack to clean up.

Speaking of which, an industrial door slides open and a humanoid creature with entirely black skin walks through. “Good morning, Matter!”

Your name is John. Your name is John. Your name is John.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. I made sure to make contact with some people who know you, to let them know you’re in my care. Vriska, and Eridan, I think their names were?”

Oh well, they wouldn’t have worried about you anyway. They’ve probably forgotten already.

“To be honest, they didn’t seem to be all that interested. Unfortunately, you may be right there.” He frowns, then strides over to the computer and starts moving the screens around. “I want to do a few tests on you, if you don’t mind?”

Of course you wouldn’t mind: making someone happy? No price can be put on that. Not like you have a choice anyway.

The more he spoke, the more you noticed that Jack seemed only to be able to pick up certain parts of your thoughts. “Thank you very much!” Pulling out a few black pads with wires coming out of them, you held still as he attached one to your temple and one to your forehead. Cutting through your shirt, he mumbled, “I’ll fix it later,” and discarded it, attaching two more pads, one over your heart and one just to the side of your navel.

“This won’t hurt a bit.” After checking through each pad again, he pulled one screen closer to him and punched in a command, before pulling up what looked like a voice recorder.

“Test one. Level two hundred. Clear.”

Your vision explodes into white light, searing pain coursing through you, noiseless screams filling the air.

“Sorry. I lied. Pain receptors stimulated, no permanent damage. Reaction, but no response. Test two. Elevating level to two-two-five. Clear.”

You can’t see anything anymore, as shockwave after shockwave of pain wracks your body.

“Test nine. Level four hundred. Clear.”

You tense, waiting for another shock, but it never comes.

“No reaction. Fault suspected, repeating test.” He sounds agitated. Were you doing a bad job? “Test nine Bravo. Level four hundred. Clear.” Once again, you tense, but feel nothing. “No reaction. Initiating final repeat. Test nine Charlie. Level four hundred. Clear.” Feeling less at risk, you open your eyes, and see him closely inspecting wires and then you, trying to explain the lack of reaction.

“No reaction. Subject has relaxed muscles and appears at ease.” He stops, and holds his chin with one hand. “Thought to be anomaly. Changing increments from twenty-five to ten.” Putting down the voice recorder and fiddling around with the screen again, you can’t help but feel bad. You clearly weren’t providing the results he wanted.

“I’m effectively torturing you, and you’re blaming yourself for bad results?” Ah. So they were bad. “That’s not the point!” He stops again, and looks you dead in the eyes.

“Seriously. What on earth is wrong with you?”

Oh. Look at you being a nuisance again. He shakes his head and pulls the recorder to his face again. “Subject showing indicators of self-loathing, and possible Stockholm Syndrome…” he adds, before seeing your face twist. “… redact previous statement. Subject showing indicators of self-loathing, unknown as to whether previously present or brought on by testing.

“Test ten. Level four-one-zero. Clear.”

This time, you feel the shock moving from the top pad on your head, through your chest, to the bottom pad; it doesn’t hurt. It actually feels quite nice.

“Positive reaction. Subject seems to enjoying stimulation. Repeating test 7 for control. Level 350. Clear.”

The pain from before reappears without mercy. Your body feels like it is tearing itself apart, screaming noiselessly until it ends, leaving you panting for breath.

“Negative reaction. Reaction change confirmed to be from level. Increments decreased from ten to one.” He looks more and more confused every time you look at him.

“Test eleven. Level four-one-one. Clear.” Your whole body starts to shake. You feel energised, and revitalised; it’s not enough.

“Positive reaction. Test twelve. Level four-one-two. Clear.” Everything goes white again – you never want this to end. You feel happy.

“Positive reaction. Final test. Level four-one-three. Clear.”

You are vaguely aware of the sound of glass smashing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAA WHAT IS HAPPEN
> 
> how many chapters is that in a row that have ended on a cliffhanger  
> like  
> 5 or something  
> sorry friends
> 
> -The Mayor
> 
>  
> 
> p.s. COMPETITION TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!  
> In your comment below, put what you think happened to john  
> the first person to get it right is the winner
> 
> some examples:  
> i think he exploded  
> i think he is become potato  
> i think he turned into glass  
> i think he died  
> i think he ate an entire cheesecake and then had really bad stomach pains
> 
> winner announced next week :B


	3. Dave - Lionheart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave gets his motherfuckin angry on
> 
> Time for the three other Children of Skaia to meet Jack...  
> Who will win  
> Who will die  
> find out  
> on the next episode of ~~dragonball z~~ matterstuck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did someone say one day early again
> 
> callout post @me
> 
> STOP WITH THE FUCKING CLIFFHANGERS
> 
> note: they dont and im not even sorry
> 
> love ya

Right now, in this moment, all you can see is red.

You aren’t sure exactly how you’re still following Rose, still aware of Jade beside you, not careering into anything, because you are totally blinded with rage.

Someone took John.

They hurt him.

They plan on hurting you and Rose, and possibly Jade too.

You will make them pay.

 

You are broken out of your stupor by the deafening sound of glass smashing, and seeing the ground not too far ahead caving in. By this point, people are screaming and running for their lives; at least they aren’t hanging around to take pictures. Should make Jade’s job easier.

“There,” comes Rose’s voice, and you can tell how hard she is trying to stay calm and collected. “That is where he is.” Jade grabs both your and her hands.

“Ready?”

No. Of course you aren’t ready. Who on this fucking planet could be ready for this?

You nod.

“Just a warning, you might feel a bit sick first time. Sorry.” Within half a second, everything around is ripped to shreds, as reality contorts into mind-bending shapes.

After what feels like hours, it stops, and you immediately take in your surroundings, noting that you are now floors and floors underground. Rose decides to vomit instead.

 

“Are you kidding? I just cleaned the floors in here.” The voice belonged to a creature that looked like a person, but with black, fabric-like skin. “Honestly,” he said, turning to face you. “Have some common decency…” His eyes (Eyes? Slits? Who the fuck knows) widened at seeing the motely crew of the three of you. “You? Now? I thought I would at least have some time to get used to Matter again.”

What the fuck? He was expecting you?

“Of course I was, Flame. Sorry – Dave, is it? Light: that’s Rose. Warp must be Jade! Tell me if I’m wrong, please.”

You raise your fists and slip into a fighting stance. “Here’s an idea: start talking. Let’s start with where the shit John is.” As the words fall out of your mouth, it dawns on you that you didn’t say anything earlier; he had read your mind, somehow.

“John? Matter? Oh, I reabsorbed him. I didn’t have any other choice, and I’m afraid I’m going to have to do the same to you.”

“What do you mean?” Jade seems to be the only one unfazed by anything.

“The powers of Skaia are mine, Warp. The three of you belong to me, just like Matter does. He came back to me, and I will take you back too, if you force me to.”

“I cannot see him anymore,” Rose whispers, standing up straight and stepping away from the mess she made. “He is no longer in the Light.” She shudders, scared, and in response you tighten your back, bending your knees slightly. “That was only John before; I think he is telling the truth.”

Without a second thought, you charge at him, fists ablaze, and launch yourself. You almost smirk with confidence until he deftly steps out of the way with speed that couldn’t possibly be natural, coming round to the side of you, and smashes a wall of green energy into your back, knocking you straight to the floor, the wind forced out of you.

“Dave!” and “David!” come the shouts from behind you, as you struggle to your hands and knees, trying to breathe slowly and deeply. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Jade vanish, and know exactly what she plans to do. Rolling on to your back – grimacing with the pain – you launch a ball of fire at the creature, and as you predicted, he raises the green energy as a shield: just in time for Jade to appear and kick him in the head, knocking him into his own wall. Blood drips from the impact, and out his nose. (Nose? Nose hole? It doesn’t really matter)

He grunts and holds his hands over his head; they start glowing blue until the injury had totally disappeared.

“What the shit?” You roll out from under him before he strikes down.

“I don’t want to fight you, Flame, but I will, if you make me!”

You almost laugh. “You think we’re just gonna fucking give up?” you announce, struggling to your feet. “No way.” Whipping your head round, you see that Jade has vanished again: this time you can’t see her. Did she abandon you?

“David! Chess!” Rose’s voice focuses you again, to see your assailant speeding towards you at the same unnatural speed. Within the space of less than a second, you register the movement, recognise him, and duck and spin, kicking his legs out from under him.

You and Rose play chess, sometimes. She plays carefully and precisely, and you play on your instincts. Most of the time you don’t even know what you’re going to play until you play it.

The perfect strategy against a mind reader. Thanks, Rose.

“Listen, just chill for a second or one of us is going to get seriously hurt,” you mutter to him, standing up straight.

He rolls onto his back and kicks up. “I agree…” Without warning, he rushes at you. “It’s going to be you!” Winding his right arm over his left shoulder, he lashes out with a green wall.

Time for instincts.

You grab his arm mid-swing and twist it round, burning all the while. “Did I fucking stutter?” He grimaces, and collapses in pain as you let go; it lasts only a few seconds as he heals all the damage.

He stands tall, squares his shoulders, and lifts up one arm.

“By the powers granted to me by Skaia, I call thee!” Black trails spiral around his hands. “Return once more to my command!

“MATTER!”

Thunder with no sound surrounds the room, and the black trails grow in size and speed.

“The time for bullshit is over.” You launch yourself at him again. He thrusts his arm, palm forward, to you, grinning.

“INSOLENT CREATURE!” He screams, with a wavering, husky voice, and an odd expression.

In front of you, your hand begins to disintegrate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nobody won the competition this time :/
> 
> this week is HEADCANON WEEK!!  
> comment your own, personal headcanon about any one of the involved characters and ill react to it!
> 
> hope you all enjoyed!
> 
> -The Mayor
> 
> (do you guys want to continue the competition on every cliffhanger chapter? drop a comment!)


	4. John - The Voices in Your Head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to THIS SHIT  
> Have some more
> 
> Did someone say extra chapter for no explicable reason
> 
> *sighs* I was writing a one-shot based off some other person's fic but IT DELETED ITSELF AS I WAS WRITING AND IM SO FUCKING PISSED oh well
> 
> here have this!
> 
> (start notes written at posting, end notes written a while ago)

Your mouth opens and speaks words not your own.

None of your movements or actions are your own; still, it’s your fault. Fighting against Dave and Jade, aggression towards the blonde girl that must be Rose, it’s all your fault.

You could have avoided this. If you had just disconnected yourself, stayed home, not had the complete audacity to seek help. Now people are going to die.

You fight it with your will, force your way out, try to break free, and none of it works. Of course not. You’re too weak.

_It’s not your fault! None of us can break out. Dont lose hope!_

_Nice. Give him hope. Sure. While you’re at it, tell him to ram his fucking head into a wall till his heart’s content._

_Come on! Who knows? This one could be the one to bring us back to life!_

Three voices sound in your head, one after the other.

_What’s happening? Who are you people? Can you hear me?_

_Of course we can hear you! We’re all here together, after all._

_Great gadzooks does this chap not know where he is?_

The voices all seem to blur and you find it difficult to tell them apart, and even start to struggle telling which is your own.

Guys. Colours.

Right. This better lad?

Somehow, the voices each seem to have their own colour? At least you can tell them apart now. How convenient.

_I think so? But who are you?_

We are Jack’s powers! So are you! We’ve been trapped in here for years.

This guy is Matter, Jane.

_My name is John._

John it is, then. I am Dirk, Speed. I’m the one here with half a fucking brain cell.

Rude! Anyway Im Jake or Energy! Pleasure to meet ya!

And I’m Jane, Life! Hoo hoo!

Roxy – Thought – is somewhere in here as well, but somehow, even as a disembodied fucking consciousness, she’s still drunk.

roxy is heeeererrrerrreeeeee!!!

_How does that work?_

drunk wen i got her so drukn forevar!!!

You mentally shrug your shoulders, and feel someone let out an exasperated sigh; you think it was Dirk.

_But we still have to break out of here, right?_

You can try chap! Of course wed help you but weve tried before and it just left us all plum tuckered out.

Just say tired, Jake. Tired. Anyway, I would not suggest it; it gets exhausting and nothing ever works.

So, that’s it. You are going to spend the rest of eternity trapped inside someone else’s body. Hey, at least you’re going to be useful, now! It’s not as if you are useful for anything else, after all.

Don’t say that! I’m sure that you have been useful, and I’m sure that people love and miss you!

_No. Don’t start this up again. I just gave up and I don’t think I’m strong enough to do it again._

_All of this would just be easier if I were dead. At least I wouldn’t be bothering you guys._

You arent bothering us at all consarn it! In fact its nice to have someone new around!

I’m not bothered by you either. You certainly seem like a nice guy!

You aren’t a nice guy, though! You’re terrible, and awful, and you deserve to die! Get these crazy people out of your head! You aren’t nice to be around at all!

_We’re just trapped here, forever, inside this…_

You’re just…

Just…

 

**Worthless.**

 

John: **Unlock.**

 

The world exploded into shards of glass and brilliant blue light, three waving lines surrounding your vision.

What the devilfucking dickens is going on?

Whatever it is, it doesn’t look like it bodes well for us.

“INSOLENT CREATURE!” you scream. Is that what your voice sounds like?

The voice that comes back, you recognise.

“What are you doing to my hand?” The light swirls around and plummets darker, darker, yet darker, until suddenly it erupts into a room, a place, and a boy.

Dave.

Of course, it’s Dave.

“Dave? Wait, what’s going on?”

“Not falling for that one. You’re gonna pay for my hand.”

“Dave, look at his eyes!” The owner of the voice was a blonde girl out of distance, with a striking resemblance to Dave. “You said my eyes were purple when I **Unlocked**!”

You pay no attention and stretch out your hands. As you expected, all the original elements of his hand are in the air of the room. All you need to do is put them back together.

“What the… Who the fuck are you?” he asks, looking down at his reconstructing limb.

“I’m-” Before finishing your answer, you look ahead at your outstretched arms and see the black, fur-like material covering arms much longer than yours.

You aren’t John.

You are Jack.

And you are worthless.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah
> 
> This is a lot shorter than usual but its okay because I say so  
> Im sorry ill do better next time
> 
> Im having a real tough time with loads of shit right now  
> Im actually writing this at the end of November tho so you wont actually see this for like three weeks
> 
> So when you see this
> 
> I was having a tough time a month ago so please forgive me
> 
> Anywayyyyyy  
> Hope you enjoyed! :B


	5. Jade - Fight or Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JADEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE  
> everyone thinks she is a BAMF  
> and theyre right  
> but everyone has #problems™ and she is no different  
> also we find out what happened to poor lil johnny boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh  
> I guess i know a bit what its like to be john now  
> my voice just absconded today for no adequately explored reason and i feel pretty useless  
> i'll be alright
> 
> in the meantime  
> have some more of whatever the fuck this is

Your name is Jade Harley, and you are not ready for this.

Holding your head in your hands, you scold yourself. You shouldn’t be here. You should be back there, fighting. Fighting with Rose and Dave at your sides. Fighting to save John.

But…

You’ve only just met them. You bumped into John, once, maybe? You’ve known about Rose and Dave for a few hours, at most: the same amount of time that you’ve known there were other people like you.

You wonder if any of the three of them ever did anything like you did.

You doubt it, with Rose and Dave, at least. They’re calm and collected, and even when they aren’t, they trust their powers. Besides, Rose could never hurt anyone with hers, and Dave…

Well at least it’s obvious that it’s meant to be a weapon.

You? You were never meant to hurt anyone. You were never meant to kill – no. You couldn’t call that killing. You did not kill your grandpa.

You did so much worse.

 

He was comfortable with your powers. He didn’t pretend to understand, but he was amazed and astounded when you told him what you could do. A man of science, he watched you and tried to explain how it worked. But when he couldn’t find the energy source, or explain how you kept your memories and thoughts, it didn’t frustrate him at all; he was excited by a new challenge.

All he did was ask you to come next to him.

You missed.

 

In films and TV shows, they rarely tackle the problem of teleporting into something or someone else. After what you did, you understand why. Whatever part of you would have overlapped, was overwritten.

You lived.

He didn’t.

 

This is your revenge, you tell yourself. If that creature created you, or Skaia, or whatever it was, then it was at fault for his death. Of course, it is yours as well, but sharing is caring, right? Anyway, either way, you will make him pay. He was using other powers… did he absorb more people? Even if not, he hurt someone, absorbed another, and plans to kill all of you.

And he may have killed your grandpa.

 

And you? You’re sat here. Like a wimp.

Because you’re scared.

You’re terrified.

You’re so…

 

In that moment, you feel the fear coursing through your veins, starting to take over, and see the room starting to glow green. You steel your resolve and push away your fear, hiding it behind locked doors. You can be scared later. Now is not the time. The room slowly fades back to its original white, and Bec sits in the doorway, head cocked and curious eyes – he’s probably worried about you.

You have two options.

You can stay here, face buried in your hands, and let the other two decide this fight, and if they fail? Well, it will be your fault.

Or… you can go and fight. And if you all fail, at least you put up a fight.

Stay or go.

Fight or flight.

Cowardice or Courage.

 

After a quick hug with Bec you make your decision, and warp back quick enough to stop you changing your mind.

 

“Jade! Are you alright?” Rose catches you first before you duck down and grab a pistol you dropped earlier. A quick shake tells you it has some rounds left in it.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” You roll your wrists and turn to your side before and aiming right between the creature’s eyes –

“No, stop!” On Rose’s command you hesitate for just a second, noticing that it and Dave aren’t fighting. It turns to you, and the blue shines bright out of its eyes.

“Do it, Jade.”

“Are you crazy, John? You’ll fucking die!”

“That’s the point!” It/John whips his head back round to Dave. “Don’t you get it? I die, Jack dies. Isn’t that what you want?”

Glancing over your shoulder to Rose, you ask: “What’s going on?”

“It appears that John took over the creature’s body. I believe he is **unlocked** , so his moves and motives are unpredictable. We should proceed with caution.”

Levelling your gaze, you refuse to take him out of your sights, but rest your index over the trigger guard and stand square.

“Please, Jade!” His voice has an odd, ethereal quality, echoing his words deeper and distorted.

“No one dies until I know what’s going on.” He drops to the floor and, on his hands and knees, cries out.

“JUST LET ME DIE!” Black dust clouds around him and bursts outward in streams, disintegrating the concrete and leaving gaping holes where it collides.

The creature – Jack, you think you heard John say – never used that power. That was something totally new, and incredibly powerful. Either, he had the power but wasn’t comfortable with it yet, or the power wasn’t his. No matter which way, there was only one conclusion.

That was not Jack.

It takes one second for you to make your decision.

It takes one second for you to steel your resolve again.

It takes one second to warp over, flip him, and pin him down.

“Kill me! Kill me!” he screams at you, thrashing his head.

“No! I won’t kill you!” He tries to push you off, and you resist. “John, this isn’t you! You’re my friend and you can fight this, I believe in you!”

He stops, looks you dead in the eyes, and blue glow flickers and flashes.

“Jade, now!” Rose shouts, with as much desperation as you have ever heard from a single phrase.

Now what, you think to yourself for a second, until it dawns on you.

“John: **Lock**!”

The light fades and shows John’s eyes, his real ones, for just a second.

They disappear, and everything goes black.

 

What the hell was that?

i dont -

Thoughts with voices and colour penetrate the darkness.

Never mind, don’t answer. We have a tiny opportunity here. He has opened the gateway, and it’ll be long enough to get one of us out.

what do you mean?

There isn’t time to explain!

I say Jane. Without you he cant heal!

That is a good point.

What about you, Jake? He loses his main defence, and that would be pretty fucking sweet.

guyyyyyysyssssssss u r missign the obvous answer

Well?

fukin MATER is here guys

Roxy you are right on the money!

huh? what do i have to do with this?

You are the most powerful of all of Skaia. Whichever side has you has basically already won.

I don’t mean to interrupt, but the door is about to open!

John, good luck.

Youll do great chap!

The darker blue thoughts suddenly disappear, and you decide to make yourself known.

_So… what’s going on?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah  
> With the unlocked shizzle there are actually some keywords  
> Out of the eight you guys have seen 3  
> I mean  
> I did have to kinda retcon one in so it was more obvious  
> But yeah  
> If anyone can tell me the three keywords they are the WINNERRRRRRRRRRRR  
> Hope you are enjoying!!!  
> \- The Mayor


	6. Rose - At What Cost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is nothing in this world that comes for free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA  
> I FORGOT TO UPDATE LAST WEEK!!! IM SO SORRY!!!  
> Dont worry friends this fic hasnt been abandoned im still here  
> and by the time you finish this chapter the next one will be up already!!  
> Im so sorryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy :(
> 
> anyway  
> have this

You are vaguely aware of the sound of glass smashing.

 

An individual cannot gain anything, without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost.

But how do you measure the value of a human life?

As John materialises on the floor, with little explanation, you find the answer: with another human life.

“John!” Dave jumps up with a start and makes out to run over.

“David, stop!”

Jack stood to his feet, tentacles sprouting from his back and his humanoid face stretching into something canine. “No more games!” One hand lifted skywards, just like before.

“By the powers granted to me by Skaia, I call thee!” Green light illuminates around him in spirals, and thunder with no sound fills the room. “Return once more to my command!

“WARP!”

Barely had he finished the syllable had he disappeared in Jade’s signature technique.

“Jade…” was all you could stammer out before the monster appeared behind you.

You realise three things in the space of a fraction of a second.

 

One: Jack seemed to have traded John for Jade.

Two: John’s immunity to The Light was no longer protecting Jack.

Three: You could have predicted him, and you failed.

 

You flinched, preparing to be hit, when a wall of green light covered you, rebounding his attack.

A green voice echoed in your head, and by the reactions of John and Dave, the former getting to his feet and the latter collecting his thoughts, they heard it as well.

What the dickens do you think youre doing?

That was definitely a voice with colour. Just like the next four had colours, too.

So, how exactly are we doing this, again?

my telpeathy!!!

We’ve managed to reverse our powers and expel them outside of our communal body.

with my help!!!!

“Jade!” you and Dave both shout.

somehow my powers let me relocate other powers! thats how im talking to you guys with roxys telepathy!! and it lets me do things like this!

“Warp, you insubordinate piece of shhhhhhhh….” Jack slurs, his body slowing to a crawl.

As it turns out, all of our powers can be used to help the three of you, instead of hindering you.

and how about some of this?

A light blue glow fills the room, and any injuries the three of you had begun to heal, painlessly. Even – as you noticed it, you frowned – the cuts spaced down John’s arms were fading.

“Jade, that’s fucking incredible. You’re a badass motherfucker.”

glad to help!! but it wasnt all me…

That was a little of me, as well!

unfortunately this is taking up huge amounts of my power. i cant keep this up for much longer.

“Thank you, Jade, and the other residents of Jack. This has been more than enough to turn the tide in our favour.”

“Sis, if John is here now, you can see him in The Light, right?” Dave asked, hurried and concerned. You didn’t even need to close your eyes for the answer.

“Jack? No, strangely. It doesn’t really make sense, and we don’t have the time to dwell on it.”

Back to being no help at all, you guess.

ever shot a gun?? you can use mine if you want.

“Mom taught me briefly; I’m sure I can jog my memory. Thank you, Jade.” Scratch that. Maybe you could be useful.

I know you guys want to have your little reunion at some point, but as the smart one of you said, we don’t have the time. Good luck. We’ll keep doing as much work as we can from here.

Heh, he was talking about you. “Got it,” mutters your brother, which John seals with a nod. You pick up a semi-automatic with both hands and rock its weight between them, before levelling your gaze, just like Jade was doing before.

You’ll get her out.

Of course you will.

Because the good guys always win. Right?

Wrong.

It’s exhilarating, you think, having a new confrontation. You don’t know what’s going to happen, and somehow that makes this different. You don’t know what’s going to happen, and that means you have an input. You don’t know what’s going to happen, so you have a reason to fight.

good luck guys!!! sorry i couldnt hold him longer.

This time, the voice is almost panting. “No, Jade. You’ve already done far more than we expected. Thank you.”

When you hear no response, you figure she exhausted herself; your suspicions are confirmed when Jack finally finishes his sentence.

“…it! You belong to me and you will not turn my powers against me!” Before, he seemed reluctant to fight. Now, he was mad.

John turns to you, almost as though he was about to say something, as Dave rushed in, fist first.

“I do not know sign, John. Sorry.” He shakes his head, with a hint of a smile, and turns, running up to the nearest wall, hands outstretched, etching a message into the wall. “John, I need to fight with David. If you think it will help, keep writing.” He nods and you turn your back to him, watching Dave and Jack trade blows.

Flexing your fingers, you test out the trigger pull, before aiming. While you may not be able to predict his movements, and everything in the vicinity seems blurry and faded at best, you don’t need your powers to know how your brother moves, and how to avoid hitting him.

_“If I ever do have to shoot someone, how much should I shoot? Just one?”_

_“No.” Your mother shakes her head, then crouches down and puts her hands on your young shoulders. “Empty it. Take no chances, okay? I love you too much to lose you.”_

You intend to stay alive, emptying the 7 rounds left inside: each one a miss. You’re about to scold yourself when you see Jack lock eyes with you, distracted just long enough for Dave to land what looked like a painful shot.

John stamps his foot to catch your attention and pats the wall. He did leave a message for you.

You hate it. You hate the words he scratched into the wall in shaky letters.  You hate them because it’s terrible. It’s awful and horrible and you can’t argue with it, because it’s logical.

_I can’t strategize with you guys if I can’t speak. Absorb me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah HA  
> I told you it would be out already!  
> thats a pretty snazzy performance there  
> thank you for continued support and not giving up on my lame ass


	7. Dave - Side By Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to @nepetaleijon for giving me the idea for the first part of this chapter! You should check out their work its way better than this.
> 
> The second part? You’ll have to wait and see :B

“I know you think that it is a good idea, and it probably is, but I am not prepared to do that to you,” you hear Rose say with force.

“The fuck’s going on?” you shout back, trying not to break your focus.

Still using Jade’s powers to his advantage, Jack fights with the added bonus of his speed, his healing powers, the fact that he can read your mind, and the green energy he can use seemingly at will. It’s a heavily weighted fight, and all the odds are stacked against you. All of them.

You just need to hold out a little longer, until Jade has enough power to hold him off for a while again, but every strike you land heals, and your body is aching with stress and bruises all over. You need to find the upper hand; you need something he isn’t expecting; you need…

“John wants me to absorb him.”

You almost fall over.

“Jade, do you have enough strength to hold him off for a little while?”

sure do, rose! wont be able to talk if i do, though. She sounds really out of breath now, for someone without a body.

“Thank you, Jade. We appreciate your help.”

Once again, Jack’s movements slow to a crawl, letting you step back and relax your shoulders for a second, before spinning on your heel to look John dead in the face – oh god, there goes your heart. “What the fuck? You want to go through that again?” He frowns apologetically, and begins to sign, almost too fast for you to understand. You translate for Rose as he goes.

 _I can’t speak –_ (yeah, no shit, Sherlock) _– so I can’t fight well; I can’t strategize with you, I can’t be all that much help. If one of you absorbs me, you can use my powers. I can be more useful!_

“And? So fucking what!”

_So I can be useful!_

(He thinks he’s useless he thinks he’s useless he thinks he’s useless he thinks he’s useless)

“But you…” You trail off, looking into his eyes. His eyes, so incredibly blue, so incredibly soft, so incredibly full of _please_. “So if this happens, you’ll be in my head?” He nods slightly, mood lifting a little. “And you know how to get you out, as well?” Another nod seals it.

“Okay. Let’s fucking do this.”

He takes your left hand in your right, and you take his left in your right. Breaking off for a second, he reaches up and pulls off your shades, hesitantly, and you let him.

You feel exposed. You feel naked. You feel disgusting. But staring into your red irises, and taking your hand again, John mouths two words.

_They’re beautiful._

Move quickly, Strider. Stop blushing, and focus. You glance over at the wall and start to read aloud.

“By the powers granted to me by Skaia, I call thee!” He smiles, and turns his power on himself, scattering his body around you.

You better get this right.

“Return once more to my command!”

Now or never.

“MATTER!”

For the third time, thunder with no sound fills the room. Something resonates in your mind, trying to break through, to break you down; you grimace and tense up, resisting it.

do you trust me?

It’s hesitant and careful – he doesn’t trust himself, but you do. It’s not even a question.

do you trust me?

_Of course I do._

then let me in.

Deep breath in, deep breath out. The walls fall away and you let yourself relax, feeling the foreign presence break in. It’s calm, and it’s peaceful.

You are vaguely aware of the sound of glass smashing. You think it might be coming from you.

{“Did it work?”} Your voice echoes with an ethereal quality.

“As if I would be the one to know.”

{“He wasn’t asking you, he was asking me,”} you respond.

But you didn’t say that.

no. i did.

but youre me

nope. im me and youre you. but we are both…

{Us.}

 

JohnDave: Exist.

 

{“I think it worked,”} you say, standing up straight and looking at Rose.

“So, who are you, exactly?”

{“We’re both of us, but also, someone different. I don’t really fucking know, to be honest.”}

“Existential crises can be saved for later. I’ll be happy to listen to all of it, but we have a job to do.”

{“Right. Thanks sis. I mean, Rose.”} You sigh to yourself; this was going to get confusing.

we can sort all this shit out later

theres a dog person thing that needs a serious ass whoopin

we can do this. together.

together

 

JohnDave: **Release**.

 

“Your eyes… are you okay? Please don’t be **Unlocked** right now…”

{“My eyes?”}

“One of them is red, and the other is blue.”

{“It doesn’t feel like an **Unlock** , and one of us knows what that feels like, so I think we would know. Feels more controlled, less volatile.”}

“So, more like a **Release**?” The word echoes with the same power as **Unlock**.

{“I think so. It sounds the same”}

cant hold any longer… sorry…

{“Thanks, Jade! We’ll win it for you!”}

well win it right

of course we will! we have to.

“I have to win…” Jack grunts through clenched teeth. “I have to-”

{“No! You won’t win! We won’t let you hurt anyone else!”}

“If you’re determined to stand in my way, I have no choice.” He lowers his shoulders and clicks his neck.

“By the powers granted to me by Prospit and Derse, I call thee!”

What the hell? Prospit and Derse? Wasn’t he meant to call Skaia? With your/John's powers you could already feel there was no one else scattered in the room or anywhere in eyeshot, unless…

“Enter into my command!”

Unless... were they in another direction?

“VAGABOND!”

Thunder without s͏ó̯ų̯͔ṉ̜̦̟͕̘͡d ̜͖̤̲̪̜̩d͍̱́ͅro̡̙̗͓͔w҉̥̼̩͖̫ͅn̢s̯̬͇̲̖̦ ǫ̰͖ͅú̵̯̬̣͖̤̰̯ͅt̸̩͎͈͍̫̟́ ͚͖̲͉̩̗̜͍̕y̵̮̫͇̼o̯͠u̪̩̟r͈͉͕ ͔̦͕͈͓̲̰͡q̴̩̙̪͉͕̫̀ṳ̤̀͡͠e͏̶̩͔̞̱̹̟s̠t̶̵̢̺̘̘̪̗̳̠i̹̣̟͍̥͖͈̖̜o͖̩̫͎͔̘̣̭̕̕͞ͅņ̣̘͙̳̤̲͍̣ ̶̰͙̣̖͕͍̫̦͉͝a̙̮͇̲̳̘͠ͅͅn̖̹̲͢d͍̖̜͔̥͖͞ s͙̦̞̭̲͓̮̠̮̬̙̀̀t̸̴̢̛͈̝̙̙͕͓͓̯͕a̶͏̢̱̗̖͉̮̰̮͕̮͈̠t͏͏͎͚̻͙͕̹͚̬͈̖̫̦͚̯̯ì҉̨̤̫̫͔͕̙͓̕͜c̴̸̜͖̝̫͍ͅ ̨̺̯̫͎̠̜͍͇̹͔͎̯̪̟̭̻̣̀ e̯͔͈͓̮͖̫͟c̷̛͎̹̰̣̭͜͞h̛̗̭̱͈̦͕̖̭͉̼͖̮̲̕͢͞ͅo̶̹̳̜̥̩͓̳͕̠̻̱̫̝̣̳̬͘͞͡͠ͅè̖͕̳̟̩͙̫̟̀̕͢ş̷̱̠̼̟̞̗̯̘̲̯̙̗̣͘͞ ͞͏̲̩͕̲̲͓̯̙ t̷̡̺͈̜͉̱̹̲̖̤̻̗̝̲̜ḩ̸̨̟̜̯̖̭͠r̷̜̜͉̘̼͢͠o͉̳͔̦̖̣̞̙̗̼̭̥͓̮̜͡ù̢̡͎̱͔͉̳̘̘̦̭̲̦̪̦͎̜̕g͢҉̴̷͎̬͓̜̦̺̣͉͖̙̠̲͠h҉͏̡̻̣͖̠  ͘҉͖̤͎̜̺̳̦̜͓̠t͠҉̺̲͇̞̗̪̲̰̪̖̙̫̘̯͟h̞͉̮̥̖̙̼̬̻̟̺̹̘̩̩̕͡͠e̷̖̺̺̮̦̭̦̲̞̺͘ͅͅ ̷̦͈̹̳͢ u̵̧҉҉̪̭̼͍̗̫̠͔̞̟̝̩̪̘͉̠̠͢n̷̷̡͚̰̰͙̘̤̼̝͈͔̰͚͕͈̬͇̮ì̡͔̯̹͓̯͕̘̼̳͖̺̲v̵҉̵̴͚͎͉͖͓̯́ę̻͍̝͇̠̩͙̦̲̦̮̹̠͓r͚̜̲̖͇̱̖͉͕̲̼͖̝͝͝͡͡ͅś͉͍̗̳͢e̸̛҉̻̪̺̮̩̖̪͔̬̗̗̦̳̳͈̣̣̱̀͜ͅ.̜̺̘̮̼̘̭̗̦̖̬̜̯̣́͜͞

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> H̲̖͎̺͕͓̲͉ͬ͊͂̎̒͐͠͞Ê̵̞̠̘̗̋̏̉͒́ͧL͚̺͙̰̃ͧ̈́͜͡P͚̦̟̭͔ͬͭ͗ͩ̾ͮ̔͐͘ M̸͔̥͎̤̥͈̻̃ͦ̊̂ͩͦ̓͊̀E̴ͤ̎͐̉̄͏̡͕ͅ Iͥ̓ͣ͐̀̀ͫ͢͏͖̠͓ Ç̮ͫ̈̽̽ͭ̕A͊ͨͦ҉̛̱̯̥̖͉͠N̵̬̥̱͕̠ͮ̓͆̎ͬ͐̏̌'̺̲̎̂̇́͝Ț̈̈ͬ͠ C̴̛͍̹̘̦̪̣̞̓̔̽̉̄ͧ̕O̢̼̫͚̺̯̥̠͎ͪ̄N̶͇ͫ̾͂ͬͯ͌T̴̢̗̝̪̫̹̗ͮ̎̀ͣͭ̒̿̚R̸̨̛̟̲͔̤͕͎̤̗̿̓̄̀͋O̪̞̘̦͚̟͔͈̘̅ͤ͊ͮ̄ͣ̌͜͞L̛̹̪͎̜̣͋̀̀ T̢͔͖̜̻̜̝͌̅ͯͦ͂ͫ̉̈́͜͜ͅȞ̡̉ͩ̎͏͖ͅE̵̵̸͙̹͎̤͍̻̺͕͋ Š̷͉̼̞͖̫͋ͣT̨̝̠̘̙̩̙͚͙̗̓̇ͫͪ͊̃̏Õ̷͓̯̠̘͊̆ͧͪ́̚R̶̖͑͛ͥͨ̉͋͝Y̯͎͍̲̦̞͈̆̇͛ͫ̔͢


	8. Jack - A New Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I̢҉͇͉̱̫͖ͅ C͕̼͓͈͘͜͞A̫͔͈̹̱̝̻͠N̪͇̣͢͠'̳̲͈̗͢T̶̷̲̀ H̯͖̞̹͉̯̝͕͟͡O̵̪L̷̝̤̥͓D͙̥̙̙́ H̱̗̪̳̟̀I̖͎̫̖̞̮͚̩͡͠M̗̰͢ O͚̜͓͠F̮͉͠F̢̲͕͉̞͉̠ A̷̧͉̣̙N̢̹͉͍̦̟̝̝͘̕Y̶̤̱̫̱̜̖̹ͅ Ļ͍̲̬̞̬O̞͚̯͍̙̮̟͠N҉͚̯̜̺̘̤̝͓͠Ģ̖̗̱͓̗͖͝Ę̞͔̺̟̰̣̳̪R͘͢͏͓̣̭͍̮̱͍͖ Į̤̗̭͚̭̺͍̲̯͡'̶̡̟̝̝̭͎̗̙M͉̞̫̤̥̝̪̰ Ș̵̢̮̲O͍͇̤͙̖̜̜͠Ŗ͖́Ŕ̰͇͟Y̧͕͖̳̤̹̖̱

 

_You are no longer MayorOfCanTown._

_You are now Jack Noir._

_Hah! Do you like that? I used your stupid little changeover that you put on some of your work! It’s somewhat poetic, don’t you think?_

_Now all your readers will read my story._

_In your story, those kids win; they beat me, and I end up gone. Maybe I die, maybe not. Who cares. The point is, whether dead or alive, I will never contribute to the story again._

_I will cease to exist._

_I don’t really like that idea._

_I just want to live. I’m just trying to keep my own existence. If people get in the way of that, well, it’s only self-defence._

_Speaking of which._

 

After your call, you look to face Flame in front of you, and are surprised to see his red and blue eyes, indicating that this is not Flame, but MatterFlame. You do not know how to deal with this threat.

Luckily, at this instant, huge volumes of water appear and surround the amalgam, rendering their flame powers useless.

~~{“What the hell is going on?”}~~ They do not say, as what happened was the expected outcome. They both accept their fate.

~~i cant do anything? what happened? i cant even see you anymore!~~ Their friend inside you does not call out anything, as she too understands that they cannot win.

~~“This should not be happening. The Light indicates this should not be possible.”~~ Light says nothing, as she knows this was all inevitable.

A̙̞t͚̞̱͡ t̮̝̞̬̖̹̮͘ḩ̘̯i͞s̷͚̙ m͔o̖͚m̺̟̰͔̀e̢̠̙n̙͙̻ţ,̭̻ J̤̱̪o͔̤͕̙̦̭͢h͏̹̱̬n̵͈̤̟ r̰̲̲e͏̰̱̻͓͖m̦̗̤̫e̘̞̞̮m̥͉̗b̠͖͔͇ȩ̼̞͓̻̙̦ͅr͉̱̜͎s҉͖̜ t̠͚̹̜̤ha̹̘̳̠͡t̮̤̹ t͇͖̖͙̩̣͘ͅh̭̤̦̗̖e̙̗̞̣̤̣̬ c̰̫͍̼̖͉o̵̲mp̧̳̩o͎̝̹͇̳̥̕n̞̯̥en̩͖̕t͉̱̩͉̭ͅs̯͈̤͈̯̟ of͕̯̻̤̤̝ w̡̞͙̣̦̳a͕̳͚̤̫te̞̙̗r͉ a͎͉̻̠̠̕r͕̠̺̯̱e̬̯̭͡ o̜x͓̤̘̞y̟̹͕̖̼͘g̼̹͓̼̬e̳̮̙̝̖n͇͟ a̴ń̬̦̦̱̝̺̬d̡̯̼͇̩̳ͅ h̼̻͚͓y͍d҉͕̪͕r̨̺̫̻̦̳o͝ͅg̕ͅͅe͏n

Matter remembers NOTHING and remains in his hopeless state.

~~{“There’s something I should be knowing right now; I can feel it.”}~~ MatterFlame give up on their ridiculous fusion and separate. It, of course, causes them great pain. ~~{“We can hold ourselves together! We can do this!”}~~

Ja͍̣̰̼͎̟ͅc̖͍̗̩̹̞̀k̰̖̟͎͖̖ f̡a̦̞̤̕i͇̣̰̝̞̩l̮̥̥s̰͇̗͖̗̰͕ t̡͓͎͍̙̫̞o͍͍ r҉͖͕̜͇e̲m̗̠̪̩͞e͚m҉̟͔̝̪͓̻̗b̟̼̜̖͍̘̖e͔̫̼̱̰r͔͉̲͕̮̰͈ t̺̣̹̲͞h̺͇͕̮͉͇a҉͕̱̥̲̫t̲̟̣ fư̼̱͕̘͔̞̯s͖̭̼͔̻i̸o͍͇̳͖̲̫̬ṇ̙̬̹͇̟͚s̡͈ ç̝͚͉͚ạ̪̰̫ṉ̭̲̦n̘̣̼̖͚͕ot̡̮̘̲̪̣̺̟ b͏̟͔e̸͍̭̜ f̀o͍ͅr̶̞̩c̨i͍̟b͟l̯̝͖̻͢ý͔̱͇̦ s̴̠̙͈͕̠̥̬p͈̰͞l͙̯͚͈̝̩i̹̼̕t̻-

 

It is irrelevant! You are god of this universe now and YOU REFUSE TO BE WRITTEN OUT OF EXISTENCE!

JACK: **UNLOCK!**

S̼̳͉͈̫̰͙t͓o͉͎̙p̵̯̲̯̥͈̰ Ja̤̙̯͔c͓k!̱͢ D̛͙͈̬̻̟̥̱o̢̯̟ņ̹̫'͉̣̯̻͉̻t͉̦͖̠̹ ḍ̖̱̤̹̞̪͞ó̰̦ t̛̘̱̪͍̮͎h̻̟̳̼͍͕i̳̟͇̰͇͚s̟͟!͚̥̮́ͅ I͔̻̘̼̱͖ d̙̹̫͎̼̪̙o̘̙͙͘n̼̞͚'̤̩͕̮̘́ͅt͏̦̩͔̲̪ͅ k̵͔̳̹no̗̤̗͚̱͝w̶̖̮ w̧̦̝̥̪̘̭h̵͚̳̘̥̥̮̝a̲̬͇ţ̘ c̴̬͈̬o͔u҉̣̝̖l̪͡d̨̦͓̦̻ ḥ̸̯̳̟a͈͎̱̟͎̱p͕pe̩̘̱̖̣͇n̺̲͖͍͈͜!

The Wayward Vagabond fails to realise that you do not care.

I̺̝͝ h͇͔͓̟͔a̬̪͔̪͟v̜̻̳͖̭̻͘͟e̝̖̗͔̹̯̳ t͚̳̀͞ò̙̝̜͖̣͙ d̸̹̤͈͖̫ơ̧̹̤͉ s̸̩̯͖o̧͇̤̕ḿ͚̬̪͠͝e̵̠͟ͅṭ̴͕̞͜ͅh̖͚̤̯̠̣͉ͅi͎̹̫̗͈͍̫͎̕n̼̣͔̟͉̲̯͝g̻̜͙͍͎̣̮ͅ; ̦̠̗͢ͅ I̗ h̥̠̜̥̤̩̲ḁ͡v̞̼̖̪͉e̵҉̰̭ ṯ̴͢͝ó̺̠͔̺̖̦̯̻̜ s̬̭͍͈̳̗͓͜͡t͚̙̦̭̦o͔̝̪p̷̨̙ͅ t̵̛͍̼̜͔̤͔̯͢ͅh̨̭̀͝ḭ͈͜ş̵̠͉.̛̛̯͢

The Wayward Vagabond does NOTHING because he cannot do ANYTHING! He is as hopeless as the children against the power of FIVE UNLOCKED SKAIAN BEINGS!

Thanks to Speed, your reactions and muscle movements are increased to the point of incredible impossibility!

Thought allows you to hear the thoughts of any being in the universe!

Energy gives you even finer control of your summons, increasing their usability and stamina!

Life makes you completely immortal!

~~AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~ Warp does not scream because why would she do that that doesn’t make sense – hey, stop that!

I͏͈̩ ṱ͓͚͙͔͙̫̗r̸͖̤̰̀i̝̗͖̰̜͉̲̹͟͞e̢̜̖͓̬̗̭̰̬d̵̷̘̞̳̗͚͍̣͜ͅ t̕͏̴̬̞̹̗͓̩̘ͅò̪̜̝̱͔͘͜ ẁ͇̼̰̺͓̪͢͜ͅạ̧̭͔̭̹̟ͅr̢͓̬͍̦̯̺ͅn̫̗̱͍ y̲̫̻͘͢o͈̰̲ù͎̺

Y̝̝͙̯͝ơ̰͖͚̝̫͔̫̕u̩̩̜͕̖̤͘ f̷̗͚̗̹̰o̱͍̬̳̥̘̺͖r̖͙̖̹c̶̟̰̝͓̝̜̠͞e̠̤̼̗͕̹̘̤͞d̡͔͙̥̘ h̸̛̰̲̬̠͡è̛̹̙́r̴̪̰͔̩ i̖̩̱͙̼͙̬ͅn̜͈̜̦̗̦̻̖͠t̷̜̹̪̹͜ò̵̹͍̜͉̳̬ͅ a͕̺̯n̸̠͔̫͍̬̟̞͝ͅ **U͍͍̜n̸͇͈̟̰̦̖̮̭̳͢ḻ̢̛̤̙̘͙͎̟͘o͔̥̯̯̦̹c̨̫͈̩͙͚͠ḵ͇͕̰͖͕͎̲̕͢**

T̶̴̪̮͎̪͝h̹̩̖͖̫̖͟͡a̧͎̕͡t̼̭̯̞͚͡ ś̶͚̹͚̺̹͉̲͍͢ḩ̠̬͎̭͕͇́ơ̢̻̗͍ų̛̰̪̤̳͖͇͜l̝͎̟̝̯͠͠d̶̶͙̩̬̗̦̞͞n̢ͅ'̖̗̼̯̪̹t҉̠ b͈͙̣͉̤è͔̤͔̠̦̗ p͍͈̟̮̬̪͉̀ͅǫ̥͔̰̦̪͝͡ș̶̲͠s͎̹̗͓͜͠i̵͇͍̤͕̺b̷̘̺̪̳̖̳̻͕ĺ̶̞̩̝̭̫̮̬͜e͕̥͕͔͠

JADE: **SYNCHRONISE**!

~~Hey, what the hell is going on! I’m the narrative, I control this story!~~ NOIR DOES NOT SAY BECAUSE HE IS TOO BUSY DYING!

{“WE WILL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!”}

“AND YOU WILL EXPERIENCE PURE PAIN!”

T̩͙̻͇̹͚ͅh̛͎̠͍̜͕͙͚ḙ̣͈̗̪ k̫̭̀i̷̙͍͉͍͍ḏ̤̣̝s̮̘̮̹͎͖͓'͟ v҉̳o̦͉̗̯͕̣i̢c̡̯̣͈̹͓e̳̼̞̤̥͇̰s̴͇̣ o̟͈̗̼v̫͇͚̻̺̘e͉̜̳̭r͔̦͈̖̜͍l̝͈̪̭̮̬̲̕a̙̖p̳̳͓̕ i͈̫͡n̴̥̗̝ f̮̝u̩̺ͅr̠ỳ̰̼͉̗,̧̼̗̣̞̣

“YOU WILL DIE BY YOUR OWN HAND!”

J̝̦͚̜̦a̩ͅd͉͘e҉̬͈:  ͚̞̤S̡̼̖̺̰ṳ̻̤͔͎b͙ḍ̵̱̟͈̩̭ͅuḙ̠̦!̢̝

{“Do we look like we want to subdue?”}

We want to kill!

“We want to rip to shreds!”

V͍̹͠a̳͓͍̬̻̥̜g̷̖̘͍͕a̵͖̯̠b̻̘̗̱͇o̗͔̙̕n̘̜̩̱̫d̤̼̪̜͉̠͠:̦̯̻̗͇̰ ̹C̙̤̹͓͙t̺̭̫r͇̗̣l͈̪̥̱-̬̱A͇̞͎͙t̪̮͚l̰̳͉̮̦͝-̙̱̣̬͚͜D̫e̷͙̗͇̺l̷͓͖̘̣ͅ!̫̙͈̱͍̝̖͡

 

_A person sits at a desk, in front of a computer, typing. He presses the familiar key combination of Control, Alternate, and Delete, before forcing the closure of the instance of his word processor that is currently running, where he types the draft of each chapter of his stories, before copying them across to a variety of online communities for writing, the corresponding one for his current story being Archive of Our Own. He leans back in his chair, and releases a breath that he had been holding for the longest time. One of the characters in his story had somehow seized control of the narrative prompt, and he did not know how to deal with the problem. Luckily, he was somewhat sensible, and made regular saves of his work; the forced closure of the current chapter not removing any content. Although he had only written 500-600 words – if you include the meddling of the character with narrative control – he decided to post the chapter regardless, hoping his readers would understand the confusion. However, after posting the chapter, he checked the statistics of the work and noticed that many more words were present than should have been._

_Reading the newly published chapter, he scrolled to the bottom and noticed another party, declaring themselves as the narrator, was describing what he was doing currently, albeit on a slight delay. He looked for the beginning of the text and began to read._

_“A person sits at a desk, in front of a computer, typing. He presses the familiar key combination of Control, Alternate, and Delete, before forcing the closure of the instance of his word processor that is currently running, where he types the draft of each chapter of his stories, before copying them across to a variety of online communities for writing, the corresponding one for his current story being Archive of Our Own. He leans back in his chair, and releases a breath that he had been holding for the longest time. One of the characters in his story had somehow seized control of the narrative prompt, and he did not know how to deal with the problem. Luckily, he was somewhat sensible, and made regular saves of his work; the forced closure of the current chapter not removing any content. Although he had only written 500-600 words – if you include the meddling of the character with narrative control – he decided to post the chapter regardless, hoping his readers would understand the confusion. However, after posting the chapter, he checked the statistics of the work and noticed that many more words were present than should have been._

_Reading the newly published chapter, he scrolled to the bottom and noticed another party, declaring themselves as the narrator, was describing what he was doing currently, albeit on a slight delay. He looked for the beginning of the text and began to read._

_“A person sits at a desk, in front of a computer, typing. He presses the familiar key combination of Control, Alternate, and Delete, before forcing the closure of the instance of his word processor that is currently running, where he types the draft of each chapter of his stories, before copying them across to a variety of online communities for writing, the corresponding one for his current story being Archive of Our Own. He leans back in his chair…_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _And in the end notes was left the following message:_
> 
>  
> 
> _“And in the end notes was left the following message:_
> 
>  
> 
> _“And in the end notes was left the following message:_
> 
>  
> 
> _“And in the end notes was left the following message:_
> 
>  
> 
> _“And in the end notes…"_


	9. [S] Echo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You want to play, Noir?  
> Fine.  
> My move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, do I have control here?
> 
> Text isn’t all glitchy, not getting rewritten…
> 
> Seems good.
> 
> Let’s do this.

 

Your name is John Egbert, again.

You suddenly find yourself nowhere in particular, surrounded by nothing, with a voice calling out to you, as if called here by an outside force.

_John? Can you hear me?_

yeah. who are you?

_My name is not that important. What is important is that I created your universe. I believe you know me as Vagabond?_

wait. thats the name that jack called out when everything changed!

_Correct. With Jack in control of that chapter, I opened a new one to talk._

chapter?

_Think of it like this. Your universe is split into (mostly) chronological sections. I can access any given one at any time, but Jack, using my power, has dominion over the most recent; section 2.8. Given enough time, he could grow strong enough to access other sections, rewriting the entire universe._

that sounds like a bad thing.

_Yeah._

so youre telling me that you created the universe?

_In a manner of speaking. It depends on how you define universe and how you define create._

hmm.

is that also why everything is different from a couple of seconds ago and why i cant see or feel anything?

_Yeah. Didn’t have enough time to describe a scene or create continuity. Hope that’s not too much of an issue._

no no no thats fine!

so what happened?

_You mean, last time?_

_When Jack got control of the narrative, he started being able to overwrite what I was saying and create his own events. Since he had Jade absorbed – one of the children of Skaia – technically speaking he was able to **unlock**. However, he forced it by the narrative. People are not supposed to **unlock** with no explanation, which caused Jade to activate an ability called **synchronise** , a failsafe I implanted as a possibility in all of you in case of such an event – a sort of glitch or hack countermeasure, if you will. It causes a massive boost in power and all four of your brainwaves to sync up, allowing you to act as one unit. Unfortunately, I failed to realise it would cause malicious action as well, which lead to the end of the last section, which I forced to exit earlier than intended._

i guess that makes sense.

im still not sure i believe that you created the universe.

_Oh really? That’s rich, coming from someone who also created a universe._

huh?

_Wind and Shade? You created it, did you not?_

what? thats just a stupid story. its not a universe.

_John, don’t let anyone tell you its stupid. When you put pen to paper, or fingers to keys, or whatever writing method you choose to implement, you become the creator. You are no longer bounded by the constraints of reality, you are free to do whatever you want with your setting, and plot, and character. Does that not sound like being the god of a universe to you?_

i guess?

_Lots of people need to understand, that no matter what they do, what they write, as a writer, they create incredible masterpieces of complexity and harmony. It doesn’t matter if people think it is good or bad: what matters is that you let your imagination flow. I’m talking to you, too, readers._

who?

_Oh. Crap. One second:_

Try as you might, you couldn’t seem to recall what your problem with the last statement you heard the voice say.

_There we go.  At least I still have control here._

_Listen, John, I need to tell you something very important, and you are going to forget that I said it, but I need you to remember, somehow. If you don’t, Jack will kill you, and Dave, and Rose and Jade, and everyone in your universe. Possibly even me, as well._

what is it?

_You study hard in chemistry. So you should be able to tell me: if you have the power to split matter, what can you do to water, as MatterFlame?_

uhh…

water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen, so…

if i split it into its components it becomes flammable!

_Perfect. I knew I could count on you. The whole universe is counting on you, John Egbert. I completely believe in you._

but im going to fuck it up! i just know i will!

_I know it’s so much easier said than done, but can you trust Dave, and Jade, and Rose?_

of course i can!

_Then trust your friends; trust them when they say they trust in you!_

okay. i can do this.

_That’s the spirit!  I’m about to reload the previous segment, and you will never remember any of this conversation, because I’m effectively travelling back in time and rewriting this. But you can remember what you need to remember. You can! I believe in you. Dave believes in you.  Jade and Rose and Karkat and Terezi and Kanaya all believe in you: even if some of them haven’t met you yet.  We’re all with you._

_Good luck!_

wait!

can i just ask one question before you go? about the future?

_Fire away._

do i ever get to be okay?

_Bringing out the big guns, huh._

_That’s kind of a tough question. It depends on a lot of things, like how you define being okay. But more importantly, not everything in the future is set in stone. This universe is fluid, and is a bit unpredictable. And anyway, even if I did know, I still couldn’t tell you, because spoilers._

_But between you and me?_

_I’m rooting for you, kid. You are the protagonist, after all._

IM THE PROTAGONIST??

_No time for existential crises now, I’ve already said too much. Good luck!_

~~~

Chapter 9: Shutting down…

Chapter 8: Rebooting…

~~~

J̭̼̻̬͎̻̜a͓͓̠̙͎d͉͙͈̫̝e̱̠̙̼: ̛̫͙ U͓͔̰͕̼n͚̲̩s̕y͝ṇ̮c͏̣̼̜̳! ̨̟̹̥͎͙̻

~~{“Are we still us? I think so.”}~~

~~[jade]what just happened?~~

~~“I do not know, to be honest.”~~

“What the hell did you do, Vagabond? I know you did something!”

J̨̭̬̜͚o̯h̛̞͚̬̗̖n̟͇͓͎͖̠: ̦͙̺̗̹̲ͅ Re͞m̜͈̲͉̬̕e̴̥͎m͏͎b̝̮̼̺e̕r̜̞̮̜! ̶͔͎̙̺̳

 ~~{“Remember what?”}~~ Matter does not remember whatever it is that he is trying to remember.

J͙̪ͅo̰͖̠h̳̫̻̙̱͉͟n̪: ̪͎̮͟ R͇͈e̡̙̳̼͈m̴̲̬̖̭̰e̯̭͚̗͓m̥̮b̺e͔̪̠̬͝ͅr̨̙̤̞̩! ̲͕̗͖̜̺̱

 ~~{“There’s something we should know, something we need to-”}~~ The Mayor stops his foolish attempts at stopping you!

J̴̫̙͇͝ơ̧̨͎̰̞͍h̷̬̤n̸̘͍͔͔̘̘̫͠: ̴͎͔̞̟̞̣̣͝ R͔͈̼̞͍͈̞͡e̡͖̠͉͘m̭e҉҉̗m͇͔̲̭̱͍̥b̷͍̥̪̬̪̳̟e̠̟̻r̮ͅ! ̛̤̮̳̘̫̮̝͢

{“We... we remember!”}

J̻͔̦̣̪̣o̦̳̹h͚̲͔͎̜n̖̜͓̫, ̹ u͝s̪̮i̧̟̩̹͎ͅn̶̫̙͚͎g͚͖̖͚̮͙͢ h̵̯͙͎̬̳̱̥i̮̥̪̞͙̭̲s̛̤̝̦̳ p͙̖̟o҉̳̞w̘͝ȩ̪̮̺̻͓̺r͉͖̯̦̥̮͘s, ̩͎̼̺̳ ṣ̢̺̪̘̺e̻͎̟̭p̼̣͈̯͔̰̩e҉͍̙r̺̳̜̳a̤͇͞t͖̟̫̬̖̦͔e̻̫͎̟̺s̜͟ t͔̜h̤̱̥̳̩͝e̲̟͉̘̼̤̳ w̮̹̱a̠t͇̞e͚̮̪̝͕̪ͅr̳̫̪͈͓̱͎͢ i̬͈̳̠̪͜n̖͔t͈o̴̫͔̺͎ i̼̱͚̳̠͔t̨͔̺̥̠̟̙s̢̜̻̤̠ c̺̪̣̣͈͚om̬̗̩̜͔͖p̜̦̙̭̻͡o͡ṇ̪͜e҉͚n̥̟͔̘t̴͔̠̫̼ș̡̙͇̙ͅ: ̸͎̰ h͚͙̟̹͜y̰͞ḓ͚͖̺̭̟r̩̘͙̜̕o̠͟g̶̜͈͉͈e̖n̥̩̹͕̙̲ͅ a̲͞n҉͙̮̺̣̦͖d̘͕̫͙̲̼͢ o̰̙̲͕͟x̶̥͓̪y̺̤͍̣͙ͅg͙͈e̹̥̠̭͚͍̰n̢͕͕̬̟͍ͅ. ̣̰

{“FRAYMOTIF! BURNING CONSEQUENCE!”}

~~~

Throwing up your arm to shield you from the intense heat, you try to contact The Light to tell you what was going on. While you still could not see either JohnDave or Jack, thanks to John’s intrinsic qualities, you could actually reach The Light at all, which made an improvement on a short while ago, where something was blocking your powers.

The Light did have information on this “Vagabond” character, though it was as vague as it was self-contradictory. The only usable information you could gather was that whoever they were, they were no longer trapped inside Jack, which seemed to have great bearing on the outcome of the universe.

There were still people trapped inside, though, you think.

When the dust finally settles, you see your brother, palms thrust outwards, breathing deep and slow.

Jack was on the floor, somehow still breathing.

“Is that it?” you ask him, hopeful yet reluctant.

{“Yeah.”} He – wait, no. “They”; your bad – turn around, still glowing in both eyes, smiling. {“That’s it.”} Their expression suddenly changes to one of concern. {“Wait, no. Jade is still trapped there, and the others. It’s not over until all of them are safe.”}

“I think I can handle that. What were the power names of the others trapped inside?”

{“Speed, Energy, Life, and Thought.”}

“Okay.” You open up into a steady stance, and close your eyes, after a quick thank sent to The Light for showing you the words.

“By the powers granted to me by Skaia, I call thee!” You don’t dare open up your eyes again. Now weakened, you don’t think Jack is strong enough to resist you.

"Return to bodies your own!"

But you’ve been wrong before.

“SPEED! ENERGY! LIFE! THOUGHT! WARP!”

When you finally open your eyes, there is not one, but five delicate forms knocked out on the floor, in the darkness.

~~~

did we…

uh…

did we do it?

yeah

i think so

 

“Are you two ready to split up as well?”

Fuck.

You don’t want to leave. You love being here, with Dave, having a voice, feeling confident. You’re starting to feel like he does and it’s liberating; he trusts in his own power. He trusts in himself.

He trusts you.

But you have to leave. If he’s having this impact on you, what sort of effect could you be having on him?

~~~

Fuck.

You don’t want to leave. You love being here, with John, feeling things together, being one person, and yet two. You feel like you finally are starting to understand him; it’s like you have a deeper insight into this boy and you don’t ever want to go back.

God, you’re so gay.

But you have to leave. If he’s starting to open up now, what would he think if you knew how he felt about you?

Even as everything you say is in unison, somehow this has even more simultaneity to it.

{“Yes.”}

 

{“By the powers granted to us by Skaia, we call thee!”}

Changing the pronouns was no conscious thing; it just seemed right.

~~~

{“Return to a body your own!”}

You don’t want to let go.

{“MATTER!”}

You don’t want to go you don’t want to go you don’t want to go you don’t want to go but you have to.

You have to.

Put yourself together, and pull yourself together.

You’re not meant to be vulnerable. That’s what the wall is for.

~~~

Nothing feels right.

As you watch him on the floor, unconscious, you feel…

Empty, yet far too full.

“Do you feel in a mood to talk about it?” The only other awake person in the room, Rose, looks at you, and cocks her head, platinum blonde hair shaking slightly in a way that you can only describe as _Rose._

“No.”

“That was curt, even for you, brother dearest. Is what you got not, in every way, what you wanted?”

“No.” Keep your answers short. Give her nothing to go on.

“If you don’t talk more, I will just use The Light.”

“Good luck. I shared a body with him. You can’t see me.”

“I know, but I got a longer answer, did I not? Clearly he’s bothering you.” You sigh, and drop to the floor, crossing your legs.

“He’s not bothering me. I’m bothering me. End of.”

She follows suit, scooting up to sit in front of you. “Why? Why stop?”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but this isn’t exactly the best time for a sibling feelings jam; we just beat a crazy fucking dog dude and a bunch of people suddenly started existing. Plus, I never want to talk about that shit. Ever.

“And he’s in the fucking room, sis. I’m not talking about my weirdo ‘middle-school crush’ or whatever the shit you called it while he’s in earshot.”

“So you can share a body with him, but not your emotions?”

“Urgh, just fuck off. I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Of course. I shall respect your wishes. Apologies.”

“Nah, it’s fine.”

Rubbing your hands awkwardly over your knees, you go to reach up and push your shades up your nose when you remember that John took them off. You feel so naked, Rose’s purple eyes looking right into your red. Pair of misfits, you are.

“So what now?”

“Sorry?”

“What now? What happens now? I’m sure as fuck not going to be able to go back to my life after this.”

“I think we have to, David. Or perhaps you would prefer to go public about this, and be crowded and bothered by newspapers and TV crews for the rest of our lives? Trust me when I say that that would get old very, very quickly.” She runs her hand through her hair and looks down. “In addition to that, think about science. How many tests would they perform on us, trying to figure out what causes us to have our powers? People abusing you for energy, me for predictions, Jade for travel, and I shall not even get into what people would use John for.”

Right. You can’t let people get a hold of your powers. It would ruin you, and could spell disaster for all of you.

“So what, we get shitty masks and costumes?” She chuckles, and lets out another sigh, looking back up at you.

“That, brother, is your choice. I shall not be doing that, however. I would very much like to settle down and put all this behind me.”

One look up again shows you the pain in her eyes, and you know exactly what she wants to do.

“You should probably call her, sis.”

“I am not leaving you here alone.”

“Go. I’ll live.”

“Thank you.” She gets up and wanders over to the other side of the room, pulling out her phone and dialling Kanaya’s number. “And David?” she calls over her shoulder. “Living isn’t good enough. Try to enjoy it a bit.”

You are empty and broken and so very tired; you let yourself cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you’re reading this, that means ive posted [S] Echo, which is the mid-act break for act 2! That’s right! A mid-act break, meaning no new chapter next week :/  
> If i've scheduled this right, this chapter is being posted on the 13th, meaning tomorrow is my birthday!!!! yay!!!  
> Also!! I’m writing this in 2016!!! Hows 2017? Is it shit? Probably
> 
> I just wanted to thank all of you, my readers, for being absolutely vantastic! i love each and every one of them and i would give you all a big hug if i ever met you so yeah would you look at that im rambling fuck sorry ill stop
> 
> so yeah!! Thank!!! :B
> 
> \- The Mayor  
>  
> 
> Also, what did people think of the last few chapters?


	10. Kanaya, Karkat, Terezi - Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> here we are back with the people who arent doing the fighting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM LATE  
> IM SORRY

Your name is Kanaya Maryam, and you are worried, for obvious reasons.

You want to be confident in your girlfriend. You really do. Of course you’re confident in her! You trust her without even a second thought.

It’s whatever she’s fighting, you don’t trust.

You’ve known Rose and Dave for as long as you can remember, and they have never once let you down on the things that matter –  Rose even going as far as skipping a shift at her old job to pick you up from the hospital. She ended up getting fired for it, but refused to let you apologise for it.

Oddly, you feel almost the same level of trust implicitly towards Jade, even if you have barely met her. You feel that the two of you share a few common experiences; some kind of cosmic connection between universes. Something to do with frogs.

Frogs? Where did that come from?

You almost allow yourself to chuckle a little. Almost.

Anyway, you’re getting off topic. The point is that you trust the three of them, and when you think about it rationally, you have absolutely nothing to fear. Nothing to worry about, whatsoever. Of course they’ll be alright. However, as you have come to learn with Rose, matters of the heart are rarely rational.

Jack is your major worry. Rose seems to think that he is intent on hurting them, and in her descriptions he certainly seemed powerful. But, her visions aren’t set in stone, so we don’t know anything yet.

Plus, what about this John person? You’ve never come across something that Rose could never see in The Light, so you don’t know what to expect. He could be dangerous. Plus, she seems to think that he is also one of the four, which leaves him with powers – a bigger risk.

In short, you know nothing, which is why, when your phone lights up with Rose’s name, you aren’t sure whether to be relieved or not.

~~~

Your name is Karkat Vantas, and you don’t have the strength to keep up this façade, nor do you need to. Terezi and Kanaya both know you. Both of them have been good to you, especially Terezi. Even after you were an idiotic dunderfuck to her, she stayed by your side.

She gives good hugs as well.

You think, out of the three of you, you have the least to worry about. You haven’t been close to any of the involved parties for any longer than two days. Somehow, it’s still hitting you harder than any either of them.

Your heart goes out to John. The little you do know about him, you learnt from Terezi and, briefly, Jade, makes you think that the two of you will either make great friends, or hate each other to death. Actually, scratch that. From what you’ve heard, you don’t think you could hate him for any period of time.

Your heart goes out to Dave. You haven’t known him for as long as, say, Terezi, but you saw through his fake “irony” and “cool” just as quickly as he saw through your “anger”. You have a lot in common in that way, and he’s fighting for what he believes in; he’s fighting for what’s right. Risking his life. Whereas you’re stuck here, moping about things that you can’t control.

Your heart goes out to Rose. She fights knowing her girlfriend is holed away at her own command. Few people have the sort of strength to do that, to protect the ones they love. It’s like a fucking movie, except there are lesbians who get a happy ending.

Most of all, though, your heart goes out to Jade. As much as her Robin Hood fuckassery is something, she isn’t a fighter. You can tell by the way she talks and how she talks about people that she doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Almost like she hurt someone before, and never wants to again.

She really is wise beyond her years, and _fuck_ you really are crushing hard.

~~~

Your name is Terezi Pyrope, and you can’t stand this for much longer.

The – for the lack of a better word – hole you are basically being held captive in smells dank and dreary. Karkat is inconsolable, and Kanaya – whom you’ve only just seen for the first time in months – is distraught about her girlfriend and her girlfriend’s brother, and does no job at all of hiding it.

What are you worried about, though? Whatever is going on, Jade can handle it, right? Jade can handle everything! She…

She…

You feel sick with worry, and there’s nothing you can do to help.

No, Pyrope. Brave face. Always the brave face. You’re the only one here who still has some semblance of a poker face – wow, hiding your true feelings longer than Karkat, there’s a novelty – so it’s your job to keep everyone sane.

You do your best, but it’s a tough job.

Running your hands apprehensively across the red dragon head of your cane and feeling down its length, you can’t help but think you should have stayed.

You could have helped.

What? No! Who are you kidding? It’s Jade! She doesn’t need your help on her own most of the time, and there are basically THREE of her! You’d just be in the way.

It’s still quiet, and has been basically ever since you arrived. No one feels like talking.

Keep your secrets, Pyrope.

Keep your secrets.

For someone in your position, it’s always important to stay inconspicuous – something you learnt growing up with a disability. It already isn’t easy, and people in general have great fun making it more difficult for you.

Karkat, Kanaya, and Jade were the odd ones out.

Jade loved you, instantly. You honestly aren’t entirely sure why, and what struck up such immediate comradery between the two of you, but it happened, and by fuck you aren’t complaining. She even told you about her powers, her biggest secret.

Or at least, her second biggest. She still hasn’t told you the biggest, but you won’t rush her.

Kanaya was there. Kanaya was always there and you could always go find her. As much as you love Jade, she can’t be here all the time; she has a lab to run and science to do. Kanaya was always…

Available to talk to, and maybe just sit in a room with. Never any awkwardness between the two of you.

 _Was_ always. You admit that you resent Rose for that; as much as you are happy for the two of them, she took one of your best friends away.

And Karkat?

Well.

Once you got over the little crush you had on him for a while, it was easy. You think Karkat gets mistaken for being some angry, distant, asshole-ish kinda guy, but it’s all just a front. He’s trustful, caring, kind, and deep down, he’s sad and alone. Everyone copes with their feelings in their own way.

Hah. How do you cope with your feelings then? Do you even have a method?

Bowing your head, you clasp your hands together, wrapping your arms around your cane. Electricity crackles around your wrists.

You guess you don’t.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the people at home are still people and they have lives and shit!! Yes!!!
> 
> It is canon that they literally just sat there in silence for most of the time. Occasionally karkat breaks out into swearing fits but then they have cuddles and everyone is fine and snuggly
> 
> They have to support each other friends
> 
> Best friends
> 
> Yes
> 
> Hope you are enjoying!!
> 
> \- The Mayor


	11. Jade - Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just as there is calm before the storm, there is calm after...
> 
> however short-lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  ~~ON TIME????????~~ NO BECAUSE I FORGOT TO CLICK POST FUCKING DAMN IT  
>  Hey guys its me!!!!! The Mayor!!! :B
> 
> I'm not dead!! I'm still here and still writing!! I'm real sorry in advance if i miss a few uploads because im just gonna get into mocks week which makes me super busy
> 
>  
> 
> but im not gonna stop writing! i cant let you guys down, and plus its really therapeutic  
> nice to take a break from my studies and all
> 
> drop a comment, and let me know what you think of this chapter??  
> Thanksssss!!!!!!!!!!

When you come to, only one person seems to be around and awake. “Dave? What happened?” 

“Look around,” is his short and sharp reply, so you do; there are five people lying on the floor: John, and four others you don’t recognise. Six people, if you count Jack. Speaking of which. “We beat him. Rose let you all out. The other guys must be the other people trapped inside him.” 

You stand up groggily and dust yourself down, walking over to the black furry form of Jack Noir, and reach down to pull off the golden ring on his finger. “They said that we had to take the ring away.” You toss it in a lazy arc to him, and Dave catches it, turning it over in his fingers. 

“What is it?” His eyes are puffy and _wow they’re red_ and he straightens up from his hunched stature, standing up as well. 

“They call it the ring of life. It was what let him supress our thoughts but still control our powers. Gotta make sure that it doesn’t get back to him.” 

“Right.” He pockets it, and looks at you, soft, like a wounded animal. 

“Rose?” 

“Not far away. Talking to Kanaya.” 

“Oh.” You curl your hands together and shift your grip. “John’s alright now?” He visibly flinches. 

“Yeah. He got out when you went in, and then you saw what happened.” He sighs, and looks over his shoulder at the boy in question, before flicking his eyes back to you. “He was the one that broke us all out of the whole Vagabond situation.” 

“What even happened?” 

“Who knows. It doesn’t matter.” 

“I guess not.” 

The four mystery people, you decide, remind you a lot of you, Dave, Rose and John, but older. The black haired girl and boy remind you a little of you and John, but you don’t think John would ever wear short-shorts like the boy is. There are lots of similarities between the blond pair and Rose and Dave as well. 

You want to jump around and celebrate. You won, and that’s what you should be doing, right? But something seems off; there’s something not quite right in the air, as if you haven’t really done anything at all. 

“So what happens now?” 

“I dunno, what’s with all the questions?” he snaps, the crinkle of his nose and his upturned mouth not outweighed by his eyes, betraying his hurt; you run over and pull him into a hug. 

You don’t know what’s wrong. You don’t know what made him hurt. But without his glasses, he’s just as visual with his emotions as anyone is. For a moment, he retracts, startled, until he wraps his arms around you, resting his head on your shoulder. He whispers, “Thank you,” in your ear and you feel like you’ve been trusted with something private, something special. 

You mutter a quiet reply, telling Dave that you’re always available to give hugs. 

The room that you’re in makes you think of what happens when you cross a multi-storey car park with your lab back home. The level of tech seems to be about the same, especially with the computer you can see in the corner – holographic screen projection and everything. When you pull away from him, you wander over to it, dragging him by the hand. You tell him that you think it could be useful in seeing what Jack was up to before you all burst in. He makes a grunting noise. 

When you look through the contents, you find the most used file to be some sort of access journal, documenting “progress.” 

 **Entry 609** **.**  

 **Location of Light,** **Flame, and Warp confirmed. All** **of this session’s Children are living somewhat normal lives** **– presuming Matter to be the same – as in the last session. Parallels are drawing more and more. From what I can tell, the geography and history of this session is widely the same, too.**  

 **Priority 1: Locate Matter.**  

 **Reminder: document Alternian war.**  

 

 **Entry 610**  

 **Matter located, but unconfirmed. This session’s guardian is protecting Matter with the ring. Priority 1 completed. New priority 1: eliminate protection given by the ring.**  

 **Further observations: Light and Flame appear to be siblings. No other familial ties yet confirmed.**  

 **Priority 1: Eliminate protection.**  

 **Reminder:** **find sources for** **Alternian war.**  

 

 **Entry 611**  

 **Matter confirmed. Ring’s protection could not be eliminated, but this was not necessary. Currently being held in a stasis hold with Carbon-J11 blocking hands. Intrinsic property of blocking power confirmed.** **See questioning notes.**  

 **Light, Flame, and Warp have collected. Will make assimilation easier.**  

 **Traces of 5th energy source detected. Fluctuating and mobile. Thought to be error.**  

 **Priority 1: Assimilate Matter.**  

 **Reminder:** **Investigate existence of Alternian war.**  

 

 **Entry 612**  

 **Matter assimilated. L/F/W on move.**  

 **Energy source** **status as error unconfirmed as of yet.**  

 **Priority 1: Leave Session with L/F/W.**  

 **Reminder:** **find any evidence of Alternia.**  

 

“Session?” 

“Really? That’s what you got from that?” Dave rubs one of his eyes and squints at the bright screen. 

“Yeah, what does it mean?” 

“Maybe our universe,” he mutters, disinterested. “Look–” he says, pointing to the screen. “– he keeps mentioning a ring to do with John. Any ideas?” 

“Don’t know. Maybe something to do with the ring of life?” 

“Apparently it… was protecting him, somehow.” 

You scour the screens for more information to no avail. There are very few entries before these, until they are locked off with the by-line _Session complete_. 

“So.” You turn to face him, and he cocks his head, confused. “What about John? You two gonna get together now?” 

Scowling, he responds sharply. “Can everyone just shut up about John this, John that. I don’t care! Just fuck off and don’t mention him again! No one fucking cares about John!” His voice is full of venom, yet you can tell once again by the look on his face that he cares all too much. 

He turns on his heel and ends up face to face with John, now awake, eyes fearful and hurt. He’s the one to turn on his heel and run. 

“No, wait, John, I didn’t mean it, fuck, fuck, I’m sorry…”  he shouts after him, chasing. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wtf is wrong with me everything was perfect and fine and I have to add t e n s i o n 
> 
> But no don’t worry there will be a brief d r a m a break before we get back to the cool shit 
> 
> Thank! :B 
> 
>  - The Mayor 


	12. John - Failing and Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One word drowns out the whole universe.
> 
> _Run._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh would you look at that im putting my characters in horrible situations and creating angst for no reason other than its entertaining
> 
> in other words  
> have some more of this

“Can everyone just shut up about John this, John that. I don’t care! Just fuck off and don’t mention him again! No one fucking cares about John!”

“No one fucking cares about John!”

“No one fucking cares about John!”

 

The words echo through your head and drown out any semblance of rational thought bar _run and don’t look back._ You think someone might be calling out to you but you can’t hear over the screams in your head.

You aren’t entirely sure why this shocked you so much. After all, you know full well that no one gives even the slightest shit about you, and you came to terms to that a while ago. But somehow…

Somehow this is different. Maybe it’s the fact that he helped rescue you or the fact that you shared a body or that you’re falling in love with him, but something is different and everything would be better if you just didn’t feel, you just want to delete all your emotions.

It dawns on you that through your half-mumbling, you’ve gotten lost and now don’t know where you are. You sit down in the corner of whatever room it is that you are in and press your legs up against your chest, biting your lip. You claim this room for the great Egbert constituency. It is the mental breakdown room and shall be used for when you are being a useless piece of shit, which is fairly often.

Don’t feel. Don’t show. Come to terms. Be rational.

You are worthless. This is a fact. The quicker you appreciate it, the less it will hurt you.

Dave hates you. This is a fact. The quicker you appreciate it, the less it will hurt you.

You’d be better off dead. This is a fact. The quicker you appreciate it, the less it will hurt you.

“I’m sorry.” This is a fact. The quicker you appreciate…

Halfway into your rambling you realise that you didn’t think that.

You look up and open your eyes to see Dave’s thin, sweating figure in the doorway of your room.

Your room. Maybe you should paint it red.

“I… uh… I’m just really sorry.” Right. Dave. Clearly he’s rubbing off on you.

_You shouldn’t be,_ you sign back, quickly. He doesn’t like talking to you so you should keep it short.

“I messed up, big time. I should be. It was just a slip of the tongue. Fuck, I’m sorry.”

_Stop._

“No! I have to… fuck… I don’t know when to shut up. I talk a lot, okay? So please just let me apologise!”

Closing your eyes and taking a deep breath, you gesture for him to continue.

“I…” He twists his hands round his wrists. “I said that because... fuck this is hard… because I really like you like a real fucking a lot and yeah so like uh I didn’t think you’d like me back and uh you’re really cool and I didn’t want to scare you off at all but like a I wanted to uh at least you know be friends or something even if we couldn’t do the thing and doing things such like yeah that but so yeah I mean I’m sorry I just wow fuck I’m talking a lot but I don’t fucking know if I can stop now because I just keep talking and this is probably the worst confession ever and the worst explanation ever I am just doing such a bad job like I am going to get nominated for fucking awards for worst confession and worst excuse for being a dick because that is exactly what I was doing which is not good so yeah,” he pants, with red cheeks and wide eyes. Covering his face with one hand, he comes over slowly and crouches down. “What I’m trying to say is… I’m really sorry.”

After what feels like forever of trying to process what he said, you decide that you probably aren’t going to convince him that he shouldn’t apologise.

You point to yourself, rub the tips of your fingers in your opposite palm, and point to him.

_I forgive you._

When you carry on, you’re more hesitant, more careful.

_I don’t think you should apologise, but I won’t stop you. I’m sorry I took it so hard_ – that earns you a head shake – _and I’ll try to be a bit less sensitive. I like you, as well, and not in the friend way._

He kneels down, smiles, pointing to himself, crosses his hands on the left side of his chest, and points to you. You love his signing, it’s careful and deliberate, but full of emotion.

_I love you._

_I don’t think I’m ready to say that yet._

“That’s okay. You don’t have to do anything until you’re ready.” You do love him, but you can’t say it. Not yet.

_Thank you-_ Half way through the sign, he pulls you into a hug and grabs you tight around the chest. Putting your hands on his shoulders, you push him away slightly to look at him, and to get him to loosen up a little; you might need the hug, put you also need to breathe.

And then you kiss him and the world explodes in furious colour. He holds one hand behind your back and one hand moves on your side, and you feel safe, you feel protected.

You think you could get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the first time in the entirety of act two we have a happy and complete ending to a chapter  
> No cliffhangers  
> No sad  
> No bad  
> Just pure and good  
> Thank for reading! Hope you are all still enjoying :B  
> Note the first: this is the johndave chapter! Next will be the Rosemary and then the Jadekat and then there will be some more plot!  
> Note the second: Chapters 10-14 are all happening in a very short space of time with a lot of simultaneity (not even circumstantial)  
> Note the third: _the mayor smirks and invites you to wait for the canon continuance of this chapter, which will be in a different fic, “You could get used to this”_  
>  \- The Mayor :B


	13. A/N

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I feel like you, my readers, are owed an explanation.

A whole lot of shit has happened in the last couple months. I forgot about uploading one week, and I got so frustrated that I missed it I went into a bit of a stupor.

 

By the time next week had rolled around, I plugged in my memory stick to realise all the files on it had been corrupted, and unneeded to format the disk. 

All of the files. Including the 4 and a half chapters of this fic that I had drafted. I tried to start rewriting but I just sorta... couldn't get it right. I couldn't get down anything like I had before, and I was just getting frustrated and helping myself and everything was on a downward spiral so in the end I just kinda abandoned it.

 

And unfortunately, that is what I am here to talk about. I am abandoning the whole MatterStuck universe, for now. Actually, it's less abandoning and more like a hiatus; this isn't permanent. I am going to come back to this one day! Probably. Maybe not. I might forget. But if I remember then I will!!!

I'm real sorry to anyone who enjoyed reading this series. There was all these plans I had! The alpha kids were gonna be important for a little while, and there was gonna be the exiles and the cherubs involved and TEREZI HOLY SHIT TEREZI

She is *SO* much more important than it seems.

I don't really wanna say too much in case I do come back.

But again, I'm really sorry. I just can't do this right now.

 

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR STICKING WITH ME! It's been an absolute hell of a half a year and I love all of you! Every single person that added kudos, and every person that commented! You really made me feel like everything I was doing was worthwhile, and I'm sorry for letting you down.

 

\- The Mayor 


End file.
